Run Fat B!tch Run

If you read my blog (and according to the stats, some of you do, which I have to say is very lovely to see…) you may recall that I got quite excited last Thursday because some books I had ordered had arrived. Well I didn’t get a chance to read anything on Thursday night, but Friday night after the dishes were done (well, put in the dishwasher…) I went to bed while Mick stayed up watching something on TV and started reading Run Fat B!tch Run, by Ruth Field.

Oh. My. God. Brilliance, pure brilliance. I finished it this morning and I have to say that I’m really inspired (perhaps not to the point where I’ve gotten out there and actually put my shoes on and hit the ground, but more on that in a minute). If you’re interested in running, learning to run, wanting to get fit, or just want a read that’s actually quite funny then I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s written in such a straight forward way, doesn’t pull any punches and has quite a few “aha” moments and lots of full on belly laughter moments (for me anyway). A few things that in particular caught my interest:

The Grit Doctor says
Either do this thing or don’t, but don’t disempower yourself by making up excuses all the time. It is boring and makes you weak. Choose ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and cut out the rubbish in-between.

How much sense does that make, and how well does it ring with people who are doing the 12WBT? Excuses people, it’s for the weak!

The Grit Doctor says
Dieting is a dirty word. It is never about slavishly following a diet. It is about changing habits, shifting attitudes and taking responsibility for your body.

Again, this just rings so true and is exactly what the 12WBT program is all about. Not dieting, but changing how we think of food and learning how to eat healthy again.

And a couple of things I just laughed out loud reading when talking about dieting delusions:

5. I don’t like water
I’m not asking you to like water. I am telling you to drink it. There is a distinction between the two. I don’t think to myself, ‘Ooh yum, I’d love nothing more right now than another glass of tap water!’

6. I have a really slow metabolism
Bullshit. You are overweight because you eat too much of the wrong food.

I could go on with the quotes, my book is full of little pink post-it notes hanging off the sides, there is just so much of the book that rang true with me. I’ve tried doing the C25K program, a couple of times now, because I really want to learn to run. I don’t know why, because when I have done my little shuffle (I refuse to call it a run, it’s only a shuffle) I have hated it, but I suppose I want to be like one of those women I see constantly here in town, running around and just looking healthy. That’s what I want to be. I want to be happy and healthy and to be able to burn lots of calories – and cheaply. So that’s why I tried the C25K program. But you know what, I’ve never, ever gotten past the first week of it. I’m not saying that the program doesn’t work for some people, but for me, it’s not a winner.

So I’ve deleted the app from my phone and am going to be putting my energy into learning to run the Fat Bitch way. The only thing I’m going to be doing differently is that this book recommends you start running first and worry about diet when you have the running down pat. Well I’m already working on my diet, and considering I’m paying (a fair bit of) good money for 12WBT I’m not quite ready to just ignore that part and concentrate on running. I do believe that I’m well established enough in my healthy eating habits now that I can start to incorporate the learning to run part into my life as well.

So my alarm is set for 6.20am tomorrow morning – giving myself 10 minutes to get myself toileted and dressed and out the door, so that I can be back in by 7.30am and get ready for work. I’ve given Mick instructions not to let me go back to sleep but to pinch me until I get out of bed. No excuses anymore people! I’ve mapped out my route and because I’m only going to be walking it tomorrow I don’t know that I’ll get the whole thing done in an hour (I’m a slow walker, what can I say), but I may even give it a go with the whole track tomorrow when I get home from work and see just how long it takes me to walk it.

The weird thing is, I’m actually quite excited about this. I think I may have actually stumbled onto a program (if you can call it that) that is going to work for me. But don’t worry I’ll keep you updated on my progress!

And if you haven’t yet, check out the links, buy the book and read it (at the very least, visit her website). Awesome!